Monday, April 29, 2013

Warriors Radio 'Game' Changer; Sports Media Notes; Monday Quick Start

SPORTS MEDIA NOTES MONDAY--

The Bay Area is basketball nirvana. Good for the Warriors to take center stage and capture the region with a bunch of terrific players and all nice guys too.

*When you win and become the center of attention, you tend to look at a lot of things...like media placement. The Warriors have never been thrilled with their 'little-sisters-of-the-poor'-status on KNBR. Being that the Giants control the entire KNBR/Cumulus 680 AM domain, the Warriors have been largely confined to 1050 AM, Knibber's sloppy second. Sunday night was a rare exception for the playoffs. But keep in mind the team is usually home this time of year and prime radio real estate hasn't been an issue. Hell, even the 49ers are OK with it and just re-upped with Knib for another 10 years. They acknowledge the station's 50,000-watt, (680 AM) power source and the fact, for better or worse, KNBR's sports brand, it's talk shows, mediocre or otherwise, help promote their clients. It's a winning combination. Ask the Giants.

That said, the Warriors, who have a billion-dollar new arena destined for the SF waterfront in about 5-6 years, (figure a decade), want their own radio schedule. They're done with being second and third-class convicts from the prison farm and their contract is up. (contract runs through 2015).

Enter 95.7 FM, 'The Game', Entercom's all-sports FM property with a cacophony of mostly empty talk show hosts but with a growing legion of sports fans who dread KNBR and are willing to listen to anything but the earwigs at 55 Hawthorne.

The Game is the flagship radio station of the Oakland A's and just got the Raiders. They don't have a particularly strong signal and in some parts of the Bay Area, you can't hear their air. But they have enough corporate juice and they're not the SF Giants and Larry Baer's kitchenette.

Enter the Warriors.

There's already enough schmoozing going on between the station's execs and Joe Lacoub and company, the new W's owners. Clearly the team wants its own home, more importantly, they want their brand to have its own identity and don't like being on 1050. It helps, too, that the Warriors are winning. Pro basketball has always been big here but now that the Golden ones are gracing the inner sanctum of TNT and Chuck Barkley land and ESPNville, all the more ammo for working for a deal to get better radio treatment.

*NOTES....

Tim Roye and Tom Tolbert have been superb on the Warriors radio broadcasts...Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda are the only reason I watch and listen to hockey.

29 comments:

Rich, how do you figure that the Warriors will get prime treatment on 95.7 The Game? What happens when the A's and Warriors are both playing at 7pm? The Warriors are likely to get bumped to another Entercomm station like KFOX (where the Sharks have enjoyed decades of radio ratings, sarcasm). Obviously, you didn't really think this one through. 1050 is a way better landing spot for the Warriors than KFOX or 96.5 KOIT Lite Rock with Less Talk. Come on Rich, we know you don't like Radnich and none of us can stand the Grateful Dead Morning Show but with two stations (three if you count KGO) and the three most popular teams in the region, KNBR won't be touched by 'The Game'

By the way, it's nice to hear them running all the adds of Papa yelling "TOUUUCCHHHDOWWWNN RRRRAIIIIDERS"

Just too bad that you can count on hearing that once every three weeks during the season.

Just my thoughts, but won't ever happen. How would moving to FM help the Warriors? One station already has Raiders and A's, plus their sister station has the Sharks? Plus as you mentioned Rich their signal sucks in many parts of the Bay Area they'd lose the ability for many fans to hear games.

Just my best guess but Dubs stay with KNBR 680/1050 but KGO comes into play and games (if the team continues this better play) not on 680 get bumped to 810. Which like 680 can be heard throughout the Bay Area and into the Sac/Stockton/Modesto markets as well. Also, add in the fact the Dubs could become much more valuable to Cumulus if the Kings do move and The Warriors now can have the Sac area as well. KNBR is well listened to there so talk shows could carry Warriors talk and get interest.

I also think the Warriors have been getting more attention from KNBR, only need to look that Tolbert is now on (some) games with Roye. I would imagine that expands quite a bit next year, maybe all home games and West Coast road games.

Aw, man! The Warriors on KGO would be way cool. One, better coverage everywhere.

Second, more Saturday and Sunday nite games would pre-empt KAREL! No more of that flamer!

Plus, he hates sports. The rest of the year, hmmm. Run soccer, grab the Sharks, do the A's. Get the Raiders. Do something!

Please Cumulus. Please? You will be forgiven, partly, if you do this.

Don't get sneaky and say you'll run the Long Beach hack on the Internet, since you can't run the NBA stream online. I'd listen to 3 hours of silence just to get that idiot the hell off the air. A brilliant idea.

Sorry, but not "all" of America is talking about your topic du jour today. Your homophobia is showing. "I don't care" is no reason to keep the "story" going.

Get off it, Rich. It's a non-story.

Important story with the dude in Long Beach on weekends? Yes. He openly panders it to everyone with emotion and passion. Collins does not. He's just a nobody basketball player now on the loose at the end of the season.

"1050 is a way better landing spot for the Warriors than KFOX or 96.5 KOIT Lite Rock with Less Talk."

Actually KOIT dropped the "Lite Rock Less Talk" slogan a couple of months ago. But back to the topic. I suppose 102.9 KBLX, another Entercom station, could also be used as a backup. But I don't see the Warriors moving to Entercom just to deal with the same conflicts they already have at Cumulus.

Raddy was calling Kreuger backstabber or traitor..a little too often today. Seems like Raddy has been a bit peeved lately. His ad libs to the KRON woman have toned down,after getting a little out there for awhile.

I say he's more grouchy for a reason,not just schtick as he will-as always- say anything perceived as negative is.

Rich, great question. But just like you did with CNN, why, then, do you care enough, with indignant outrage, to continue to talk about it if it's no be deal to care about? You DO care, and it shows.

You aren't Mike Francesca, but he's right. Just because Time-Warner (Sports Illustrated) cares, why should you since you are the one who asked "Who cares?"

And the fact that he's a free-agent, no-name player from the lowly NBA Washington Wizards? Come on Rich. If anyone is pre-manufacturing this story - it's you. No one cares. Your indignant righteousness is amazing only because YOU are talking about it.

Why would there be book deals and a possible "movie" of a do-nothing 34 year old basketball for the Washington NBA team who "came out"? His career is washed up. He's too old now and no one cares. Now, if it was Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan or Dr. J, it would be different.

Hell, when Wilt Chamberlain came "out" with his story of how many hundreds of bedmates he had, his book flopped and he was a star.

Right from the git-go. Your first call from Dallas, you interrupt him incessantly. You talk over him with your righteousness. You need to go to interviewing school. Staged or not, you owe it to let the listeners hear the caller as much as they hear you. It's your show. It's the audiene's forum on the radio or hear.

The kid was silly trying to talk over you.

You're not making a big deal of a PR campaign? Then change the topic, Rich. The kid was right. This is no debate. You just want to talk over someone else.

Why is this even a discussion, the Warriors just signed an extension with KNBR for five years and 95.7 tried to steal them away and could not! As much as I despise Fitzgerald I really enjoy Roye and Tom ...hope that becomes a regular thing

I want to weigh-in on the Collins thing...my view....NEWS FLASH ALERT BREAKING NEWS... Gays play sports, in case you didnt know.....here is what I see happening, I dont follow basketball ( because any sport I cant play is no fun , lol )but I understand that as of late this guy is a sub-standard player , in other words he sucks,( apparently litterally too now )... i know it was a weak joke, but hey, so with that being said...... he is a substandard player from what I hear, I can see him NOT getting picked up next season, then he screams discrimination because he came out ... THOUGHTS??? ASLO yeah the whole breaking alert ultra important ALERT ALERT ALERT has become ludicrous, a celebrity farts and it's breaking news................

Sir - you're not caring is what you need say to MZ. Maybe he will, then, get someone in there who does care. You've made it clearly obvious. It is not your domain. It is Michael Zwerlings. You are just a guest in his house.

Him not caring is what makes the show interesting..... granted I dont ALWAYS agree with Rich's view , however his show is different, thats why I listen... i too dont give 2 squirts of monkey pee what people think about me..... a Warrant Officer in the Marines once told me... "Son, if people dont like you for who you are , then f**k 'em.... dont sweat the small sh*t son...and remember when dealing with alot of people , it's all small sh*t "

Regarding Jason Collins coming out of the closet.Well good for him. No harm done. He is free to live his own life.The question on many minds is. Why didn't he do this when he was a rookie?It will take a lot more courage when a gay player comes out as a rookie or as an established star.